I’ve been pondering a thought lately and am surprised a bit that I haven’t heard it referenced by others on the news. Perhaps it has, and I just haven’t heard it – but I’ve heard the general story covered a lot. The thought first came to mind when hearing about Gov. Ron DeSantis blocking the teaching of African-American studies for AP programs in Florida high schools. The story itself is pretty repugnant – it’s one of those incomprehensible stories that I can’t grasp not only that it’s being done, but why on earth you would want to? And by “want to” I mean on so many different levels. Why would any politician – even the most virulent racist, which for the sake of argument is a level that Ron DeSantis hasn’t reached yet, because he still has a few rungs to go – push this? Not teaching the history of a group of Americans. I can understand a virulent racist wanting to appeal to his virulent racist base, but even in the GOP and even in Florida that’s only a subset of the party, and risks offending the rest of the voting populace. Yet even if a politician is okay with that, most virulent racists tend not to want to be branded that way. “I’m not a racist, I support all people,” tends to be the response. “I just think it’s unfair we try to help minorities as if they can’t help themselves. In fact, it’s the liberals and socialists who are the real racists because they believe that minorities need the assistance of and are unable to succeed without it.” But even more, when someone clearly has their hopes on running a national campaign and becoming President of the United States, it’s an almost inexplicable strategy to be branded as The Candidate Who Wants to Outlaw Teaching the History of Black People. (In fairness, I’ve heard some analysts point out that while Ron DeSantis is hugely popular in Florida and polls well in the Republican Party, there is nothing that shows he would run well as a national candidate outside the state.) Of course, the world is full of subjects that are incomprehensible to me, and there’s also some comfort in not being able to understand virulently racist thinking. Clearly, though, this virulently racist and all-out fascist brand is what Ron DeSantis is going for. Not just with a law prohibiting the teaching AP African American Studies, but also state laws that ban books and ban teaching subjects that make students “uncomfortable” – never mind that most things taught in school, including or perhaps even especially math, make students uncomfortable. It’s even at the point where teachers in Florida can now be convicted of a felony and face up to five years in prison for recommending the “wrong” book. In fact, according to CNN, school officials in at least two Florida counties told teachers they should “box up their personal classroom libraries, cover them up or enter the books into the district’s cataloging system in order to check their approval and keep them on shelves.” I know that most Republicans get offended when their party is called fascist today. But if they took the time to look up laws about banning books, banning school subjects on minorities, and putting teachers in prison, they’d see that these are the poster children of fascism, If only that was what offended them. Perhaps the books that would explain this are banned in Florida. The only thing missing in Florida are the bonfires of banned library books. So far. (Another thing I don’t comprehend – why would anyone want to be a teacher in Florida, knowing that you’re at risk of going to prison if you teach something “wrong” or recommend the “wrong” book??? Even if you’re a virulent racist and like the bans, knowing that you can be convicted of a felony if you teach something “wrong” would seem to be a hindrance in pursuing the field.) All of which lead to my imponderable thought – The big push among Republicans these days when it comes to education is how “Parents know what’s best for their children than government,” and so we’ve seen near-riots by extreme right activists at school board meetings across the country. (Never mind that not all parents know what’s best for their children, which is a big reason by we have child abuse laws, child work laws, and child welfare organizations. Not to mention doctors who know what’s best for children more than parents.) So, with that in mind among the extreme right – that they truly believe parents know better than the government what’s best for their children -- why are Republicans in Florida so supportive of the government there passing laws about what children can be taught and passing laws about what children can read?? By all rights, they should be red-hot outraged. Instead, they embrace it with the loving bear hug and wet-lip kiss for a long-missed relative. I am not going to try to figure out this conundrum. Because the answer is probably closer to the lines of – It’s not a conundrum. It has nothing to do with thinking parents know what’s better for their children than the government. It’s just that they’re racist, fascist and so conversative that they just don’t want things they personally hate being taught or even existing. But it’s still a good question to ask them, so that they can try to answer it out loud themselves.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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